Seventeen thousand expected to pedal in Friday's Tour la Nuit

CBC

Watch out for CBC Television anchor Debra Arbec, business reporter David Blair, reporter Elias Abboud and the rest of CBC's own team of cyclists in our white t-shirts tonight, as we take part in the festivities surrounding Tour la Nuit.

The organizers of the annual bicycle festival, Vélo Québec, expect 17,000 cyclists to take part in Friday night's event, which gets underway at 8:15 p.m. from Pie-IX Boulevard at De Rouen Avenue.

The 25-kilometre course heads east on Notre-Dame Street, then north to Montreal East before heading west again through Anjou and St-Léonard, then south through Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie.

Sunday's Tour de l'Île has options for all

On Sunday, tens of thousands of cyclists will take to the streets for the 29th annual Tour de l'Île.

There are five route options this year, including a 25-kilometre and 50-kilometre ride through eight boroughs, allowing cyclists to travel at a leisurely pace.

There is also a 50-kilometre "express" option, for cyclists who want to ride at 30 kilometres per hour. Downtown streets will be closed off for that event.

There is also a 100-kilometre version called the Découverte, where experienced cyclists will share the road with motorists for the first 70 kilometres as they bike around the island, joining other cyclists for the last 30 kilometres along the route that is closed to traffic.

For information on street closures for both the Tour la Nuit and for Sunday's events, you can download more details from Vélo Québec's website.